Marion County Superior Court Judge Michael Keele ruled this week that:
[A]n organization or membership association does not satisfy the jurisdictional standing requirement of IC 4-21.5-3-7(a)(1)(B) by stating facts that demonstrate that its members are aggrieved or adversely affected by the order of which review is sought. In order to invoke administrative review under AOPA, a petitioner seeking review under IC 4-21.5-3-7(a)(1)(B) must petition for review in a writing that states facts demonstrating that "the petitioner is aggrieved or adversely affected by the order" of which review is sought. Allegations of an unaffected association that members of the association (or any other persons that the petitioner itself) are aggrieved are not sufficient to invoke the tribunal's jurisdiction over the case.The case is Indiana-Kentucky Electric (IKEC) and IDEM v. Save the Valley, et al. In December 2002, three Indiana environmental groups, Save the Valley, Inc., Hoosier Environmental Council, Inc., and Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, Inc. sought administrative review of a solid waste facility permit renewal issued by the IDEM to the Indiana-Kentucky Electric Corporation's Madison, Indiana generating station. The three environmental groups claimed that their members were adversely affected by the permit renewal and sought to have the permit modified. No individual person challenged the permit decision, and the groups did not claim that they themselves were harmed by the permit, but instead claimed that some of their members were harmed. Here are copies of the Marion County Court's ruling and order (thanks to Barnes & Thornburg for the docs). Posted by Marcia Oddi at October 31, 2003 03:39 PM